A British Muslim woman was allegedly assaulted by a group of women, who had ripped off her hijab in a racially motivated attack in London. Police say they have arrested two people in connection with the crime.
The investigation is going on for the incident, which happened on Thursday as a young mother was walking to a private Islamic primary school in the south London to collect her children. she was approach by a group of women, who allegedly started shouting abuse at her.
She was asked by the women if she is not feeling hot wearing a headscarf. The attackers then proceeded to pull her hijab off and and beat her near the Al-Khair school in Croydon.
“They pulled my headscarf off and started punching and kicking me,” the woman said, who wished to remain anonymous.
“One was dragging my head down while the others were hitting me. They were being so racist and using offensive terms,” they stopped only when another parent came to my aid, said the woman.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We take any offense seriously. We have made two arrests in connection with our ongoing investigation.”
Muslims have been the main victims, say anti-racism campaigners, partly due to the rise of Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL).
“With racist hounding in schools and job discrimination against Muslims is on the rise which is attributed to Islamophobia, said Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. “Such cases needs to be both acknowledged and tackled,” he added.